I Can Do It Myself!
We work hard all our lives. We go to school so we can be educated, we specialize
and get degrees and certifications so we can get a better job. We contribute to retirement plans and savings
accounts, and invest in stocks or other financial products to ensure we have
enough money to provide for ourselves and our families. Financial independence, apparently, is the
goal.
But what about people whose life choices,
circumstances or environment prevent them from these things? A child born into poverty is likely to remain
in poverty, because he lacks the resources to change his situation. This child grows up watching his parents
struggle to maintain shelter and food.
He has no concept of savings or retirement; in his world, people work to
stay alive and then they die.
In the arena of social entrepreneurism, the concept of
microcredit is gaining strength. Loaning
small amounts of money to struggling farmers, small family businesses, or small
manufacturers can give these people the boost they need to make progress toward
self-reliance. By providing necessary
funds for seeds or fertilizer, or a necessary piece of equipment, these
struggling business owners can rise above barely surviving and begin to see
profits for their efforts. Microcredit
is not a big bank loaning startup money at a high interest rate, it is a
low-interest loan for a small, fixed amount needed to give a business a chance
to succeed. For example, the purchase of
a tractor might be the turning point for a rural farmer who has been plowing,
planting and harvesting by hand. Once he
begins to see a profit from his increased efficiency, he can repay the small
loan and become self-sufficient.
“Self-reliance
involves several facets of a balanced life, including (1) education, (2)
health, (3) employment, (4) family home production and storage, (5) family
finances, and (6) spiritual strength.” - CHURCH WELFARE PLAN, CATCHING THE VISION OF SELF-RELIANCE
In our personal lives, we must always be working toward self-reliance. Having sufficient finances is not enough. We also need to pursue education, maintain good health, seek and secure reliable employment, provide a stable home environment and adequate food for our families, and constantly build our spiritual strength. It is difficult to maintain this balance, as we work on one area others may suffer. For example, in the past year I have focused on my education, employment and finances. These things have all required a lot of time and energy, leaving little for working on staying physically and spiritually healthy, and keeping my home clean, safe, with a sustainable food supply. In order to free up some time and energy to work on those things that have suffered, one of the things I had been working on would fall into neglect. Because my finances were fairly stable, I decided to cut back on the number of hours I was working, and not accept any new home care clients until my health, home and spirit had improved. This means I have less income, so I have to live more frugally, but the benefit of improved health, a more organized home and a renewed relationship with the Savior are well worth that minor inconvenience.
Self-reliance is not a static occurrence, it is a
fluid, changing state that must be constantly nurtured and monitored. When I was younger I thought that life had a
logical, predictable progression. After
graduating from high school, a person got married, went to work, got promoted,
bought a house, raised children, and retired.
That was how my parents did it, and that was what I expected to do. Back in the 1940s when my parents married,
working at one job until retiring was normal.
Employers had good retirement plans, rewarded loyalty, paid fair
wages. My father had excellent job
security, and retired comfortably.
Today, most employers do not contribute to retirement plans. Most people work to survive, and have little
left over to put away in savings. It is
unusual to stay at the same job for more than a couple years, so there is no
loyalty or sense of obligation for employers to provide benefits for their
employees. Health care is dismal, so we
must educate ourselves on healthy living practices such as exercise and good nutrition. The recent pandemic taught us the importance
of having backup resources available, both financial and food/necessities.
In today’s world, we have to set our sights on
self-reliance. We are each responsible
for monitoring the health of our finances, food and supply resources and backup
storage, home, family and spirituality.
We must constantly pursue learning, whether it is related to advancing
our careers, changing careers, furthering our discipleship, or discovering how
to fix a leaky sink. We have to
frequently adjust our priorities and focus to ensure no portion of our self-reliance
plan is neglected, which could be disastrous.
Think of the independent 5-year-old child, who
rejects her mother’s offer of help tying her shoes and yells “I can do it
myself!” Be that child. Learn to do it yourself. Build strong resources and backups. Reevaluate, adjust, and change course when
necessary to continue working toward self-reliance.
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